New Zealand: All stories
Why efficiency is the key to cheaper energy
19 Jul 2019
Improving energy efficiency is a cheaper way of meeting New Zealand’s 100 per cent renewable electricity target than building new power stations, a Government agency says.
Fonterra calls a halt to new coal-fired boilers
18 Jul 2019
FONTERRA is implementing an immediate ban on new coal-fired boilers, but says it is not yet ready to be coal-free.
UN hears call for sustainability voice in Cabinet
18 Jul 2019
New Zealand should have a Cabinet minister responsible for meeting the Sustainable Development Goals, the United Nations has been told.
Pay the farmers now, says bioenergy lobby
17 Jul 2019
The Bioenergy Association wants farmers who cut greenhouse gas emissions to be eligible for carbon credits now.
July shapes up as hottest month on record
17 Jul 2019
Record temperatures across much of the world over the past two weeks could make July the hottest month ever measured on Earth, according to climate scientists.
UK gives Jaguar Land Rover loan for e-cars
17 Jul 2019
THE UK Government has handed Jaguar Land Rover a loan guarantee of more than $NZ900,000 to help to accelerate its progress in the global electric vehicle race.
Farmers might get tradeable credits in ETS deal
16 Jul 2019
Farmers will face a price on emissions from 2025 at the latest, the Government says.
Government sticks with 100% renewables plan
16 Jul 2019
The Government is pushing ahead with plans to make New Zealand’s electricity generation 100 per cent renewable, despite advice from the Interim Climate Change Committee that it would be better to focus on electrifying the transport and industrial heat sectors.
Zero-carbon submitters back 1.5deg target
16 Jul 2019
Submitters on the zero-carbon bill support a target of limiting warming to 1.5deg being enshrined in legislation.
Pigs in the shade: This radical farming system banks on trees
16 Jul 2019
A farm in Portugal is showing how the ancient art of silvopasture – combining livestock with productive trees – might offer some real answers to the climate crisis.
Labour Party pushes public to back carbon bill
15 Jul 2019
The Labour Party is building a campaign base to push through the zero-carbon legislation.
Think bioenergy for woodlots, farmers told
15 Jul 2019
Farmers facing falling log exports and prices for timber from woodlots are being urged to consider a new market – bioenergy.
Global carbon markets long way off, says Shaw
12 Jul 2019
Functioning international carbon markets are a decade away – probably two, New Zealand’s climate minister says.
Farm methane doing most damage, say scientists
11 Jul 2019
Methane from farm animals in New Zealand is doing more damage to the climate than the combined impacts of all other greenhouse gases, a new analysis says.
Government moving to auction system - and soon
10 Jul 2019
The Government is gearing up to auction carbon units from the end of next year at the latest.
Refinery wants to cut costs with solar farm
10 Jul 2019
Installing a solar farm at the Marsden Point oil refinery will cut the operation’s greenhouse gases by 18,000 tonnes a year.
Government pushes plans for cleaner cars
9 Jul 2019
New emissions standards for cars could cut New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions by more than five million tonnes over 20 years.
Air NZ jettisons plastic products
9 Jul 2019
The removal of plastic from Air New Zealand’s in-flight service is cutting its carbon emissions, the airline says.
Tank-water communities could be at risk
9 Jul 2019
Rural communities relying on rain on their roofs for water could be at more risk of disease as the climate warms, new research shows.
China's solar plants pay the price for dirty air
9 Jul 2019
Air pollution is affecting the performance of China’s solar-energy farms, scientists say.
LNG industry could be as bad as coal, experts warn
9 Jul 2019
THE booming liquefied natural gas industry will play at least as big a role as new coal investments in bringing on a climate crisis if all planned projects go ahead, energy analysts say.
Local governments want climate rules in RMA
8 Jul 2019
Local authorities want to be able to take climate impacts into account when they are considering applications under the Resource Managements Act.
Grant to find answers to native trees questions
8 Jul 2019
The Government is putting $422,000 into finding better ways to grow native trees for forestry.
ZCB might not do the job, Government hears
5 Jul 2019
The zero-carbon bill might not fulfil New Zealand’s international obligations on climate change, the Government is being told.
Heat waves threaten nuclear power production
5 Jul 2019
The nuclear power sector is often portrayed as resistant to unpredictable weather associated with climate change. But heat waves are punching holes in that narrative.
Roaches could soon become too tough for pesticides
5 Jul 2019
Cockroaches have become harder to kill and could soon be almost impossible to control using pesticides alone.
Farmers table offer for cutting methane
4 Jul 2019
Farmers say they are prepared to cut methane emissions by 10 per cent by 2050 – well short of the target the Government intends imposing.
ProdCom report urges Govt to support councils
4 Jul 2019
The Government is coming under increasing pressure to provide local councils with the skills and resources they need to deal with the impacts of climate change.
LSE reclassifies oil and gas producers
4 Jul 2019
Oil and gas companies listed on the London Stock Exchange have been reclassified under a non-renewable energy category in a move designed to distinguish between heavily polluting companies and greener producers.
Glue could be simple solution to a sticky carbon problem
4 Jul 2019
Epoxy resins can be a key ingredient in making effective carbon-capture materials – and they have been staring us in the face for more than 70 years.
Why we can't ignore imported carbon emissions
3 Jul 2019
Greenhouse gases released in the production of imported goods used by New Zealanders are coming under the spotlight.
Today's power plants already lock in 1.5deg
3 Jul 2019
To stay within the Paris climate goals, coal and other fossil fuel-fired power plants would have to shut down early or be retrofitted for carbon capture.
Costly aircraft contrails are going sky-high
3 Jul 2019
The clouds created by jet engine pollution have a surprisingly powerful short-term impact on global warming.
BETTER WORLD: There's a lot to do, says Govt
2 Jul 2019
New Zealand can increase wealth and jobs and protect the environment – but it’s going to take work, the Government says.
OPINION: Pasture plays a big role
2 Jul 2019
By SARAH GARD | Pasture management, alongside livestock solutions, shouldn’t be overlooked as a tool for mitigating climate change.
Solar future shines ever more brightly
2 Jul 2019
The world’s solar future continues to brighten, further and faster than seemed possible only a few years ago.
Nervous farmers eye methane cut obligations
1 Jul 2019
The prospect of having to cut methane emissions by 10 per cent over the next decade is depressing otherwise optimistic farmers.
Let's include pollution deaths in road toll
1 Jul 2019
Deaths from air pollution caused by vehicles should be included in the road toll, doctors and electric vehicle campaigners say.
OPINION: It's time to change the climate script
1 Jul 2019
By NICKY HAWKINS | The climate story must balance talk of urgency with hopeful and creative ideas if we are to inspire positive change.
Few Air NZ passengers offset emissions
28 Jun 2019
Only a fraction of people flying to and from New Zealand are offsetting the greenhouse gas emissions from their flights, according to Air New Zealand figures.
Scientists claim methane breakthrough
28 Jun 2019
Scientists are claiming a breakthrough in the quest to cut methane emissions from animals.
'Rugby, big cars and beer' worries expert
28 Jun 2019
Energy and climate expert Professor Ralph Sims has been trying for years to get the message across to New Zealanders that driving cars is our climate downfall.
It's time to file post-89 forestry returns
28 Jun 2019
Carbon forestry returns for post-1989 are due this weekend – and officials are urging people to get them right.
Touring by car ups emissions, says report
27 Jun 2019
Domestic and international tourists driving cars are pushing up New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions, counteracting a small drop in emissions from industry.
Government buying power goes green
27 Jun 2019
The Government is using its massive buying power to help to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
NZ must act now on agriculture, says OECD
26 Jun 2019
The OECD is again calling on New Zealand to impose an effective carbon price, saying the expanding dairy industry is undermining the country’s goal to create a low-emissions economy.
Storms threaten billions in road-rail damage
26 Jun 2019
Countries are being told to urgently upgrade their road and rail networks in the wake of a report predicting billions of dollars a year in damage from natural disasters.
G20 countries triple coal-power subsidies
26 Jun 2019
G20 countries have almost tripled the subsidies they give to coal-fired power plants in recent years. G20 countries have almost tripled the subsidies they give to coal-fired power plants in recent years.
We might have to step in, warns Reserve Bank
25 Jun 2019
The Reserve Bank says it might have to step in and regulate if companies fail to deal with climate risks.
Pacific climate response in question as NZ finance remains unclear
19 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | With New Zealand's $1.3 billion international climate finance commitment set to end with no clarity on what follows, the Auditor-General says oversight of that funding remains patchy and long-term outcomes are unclear.
NZ hydrogen regulation to catch up with the world
18 Dec 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The government has announced a regulatory reset for New Zealand’s emerging clean tech hydrogen sector.
State-owned farmer drives profit growth with emissions reductions
19 Dec 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Government-owned Landcorp, trading as Pāmu, is one-third of the way to meeting its 2031 emissions reduction targets, with five years left to run to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30.3% against 2021 emissions.
Transport dominates NZ’s rising consumer emissions
10 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Transport pollution was the biggest contributor to an increase in New Zealand’s consumption-based emissions in 2023, with emissions from household travel up 12%, and consumption-based emissions totalling 58.3 million tonnes – up 1.6% from the previous year.
NZ could become ‘dumping ground’ for dirty vehicles: Commissioner
16 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Simon Upton, Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, has warned the Government that its changes to the clean car standard could turn the country into a dumping ground for high emitting cars, making future emissions budgets harder to achieve.
Uncertainty eroding confidence in forestry sector
5 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Warnings are mounting that tree planting is set to plunge to “very close to zero”, as new Ministry for Primary Industries data shows ETS registration applications falling sharply as confidence in forestry declines.
Investors must support positive climate-tech
28 Nov 2025
OPINION: We need better leadership than the current ‘climate opportunism’ that is rife in the Beehive, and we need to back a marketplace that will make it happen, writes Rob Campbell.
